More simple take on a speaker platform

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mlkras
Posts: 82
Joined: Tue Sep 12, 2006 11:51 am
Location: Boston, Massachusetts

More simple take on a speaker platform

#1 Post by mlkras »

I have an upcoming outdoor family event that is a combination wedding party and music festival with three different live bands. Normally I would have rented platforms to stack a couple of OT12s on either side of the stage but I thought maybe it was time to think about some of the speaker stand based designs that have been floating around the forum. Most of the designs have seemed overly complicated and overbuilt. Even four OT12 speakers barely weigh 150 pounds. I am a carpenter by day so I always have a lot of stray material around. I built the 20 by 30 inch platforms out of two layers of fir plywood glued and clamped overnight with yellow glue. For the side supports I used steel supports from Penn Elcom. Rather than rimming the edges with wood or steel or routing out for the corner bumpers I installed a mediocre quality (and cost) inverted 1 3/8 top hat 10 inches from the rear of the platform and dropped a five inch piece of 1 5/16 closet rod dowel in the top hat which protruded up enough to fully extend into the full depth of the speaker top hat. Needless to say the speaker is very secure and the entire assembly seems quite strong. I intend to install lagged rings on the underside of the platform so as to be able to attach stays if it gets real windy or my relatives get too drunk. Not a giant change but I think less is more.
platform with wood rod.JPG
Platform with OT12.JPG

Grant Bunter
Posts: 6915
Joined: Mon Nov 28, 2011 11:12 am
Location: Ilfracombe Queensland Australia
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Re: More simple take on a speaker platform

#2 Post by Grant Bunter »

Nice, Clean, Simple.
Adding some rings for stays if it gets windy seems like a smart move.
Can I suggest adding some eye bolts for ratchet straps over the cabs too?
It might seem redundant, I'm sure the cabs won't move, but if you take those out somewhere, safety is paramount, even the appearance of safety considerations might help you stay out of trouble...
Built:
DR 250: x 2 melded array, 2x CD horn, March 2012 plans.
T39's: 4 x 20" KL3010LF , 2 x 28" 3012LF.
WH8: x 6 with melded array wired series/parallel.
Bunter's Audio and Lighting "like"s would be most appreciated...

David Raehn
Posts: 676
Joined: Tue Apr 30, 2013 5:56 pm
Location: Colonial Beach VA

Re: More simple take on a speaker platform

#3 Post by David Raehn »

Well Done!

I drilled 5/8" holes through mine near the side edges for the ratchet strap hooks.
BFM rig:
6 OT12
4 T48
4 WH8
Other:
56 box Electrotec LabQ rig
Way too many cables
:noob:

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